The Problem with U.S. Cellphones..Why cell phones are better in Asia

Cellphones in the U.S. transmit data more slowly that phones in Europe and have fewer features than those in Asia, where you can make calls on the subway or use your handset like credit card. According to Kent German of Cnet.com, " The U.S. cellphones is going to be behind for a long time because of competition. Carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile use GSM, a network that works in a completely different way from CDMA, the one used by Sprint and Verizon. Phones are not compatible across networks, and customers can't roam between them. Because Europe and many countries in Asia decided years ago to adopt a single cellular network, GSM, their infrastructure works with all the kinds of phones, and developers can add more bells and whistles. " No one in the U.S. guys have to pick the same technology " explains German, that allowed a complete coordination among carriers. Now each carriers has sunk millions into his own infrastructure, so change in unlikely. ( This article was printed on the Los Angeles Times, Parade Sunday January 4, 2009. )